Brandon had no idea what Uni and Boot stood for, but obviously it had to be meaningful to her or she wouldn’t have something so permanent on her body. Regardless of the meaning, it was none of his business, and while the curiosity to know was already beginning to fester, he refused to get personal with her about anything.
Touching the swollen area around her ankle very carefully, he saw that no bones seemed to be protruding like some of the uglier ankle injuries he’d witnessed out in the field. “It might just be sprained. Did you hear anything crack when you twisted it?” He looked up at her. That bewilderment was still in her eyes, and he swallowed hard trying his damnedest not to react inappropriately to it.
She shook her head. “I don’t think so, but it happened so fast.”
He brought his eyes back to her foot. He had to. Looking into those big innocent eyes was breaking his will to fight the urge to speak more freely to her. Lowering her foot gently, he stood up.
“There’s no way you’ll be driving tonight. And you really need to get this X-rayed to know for sure. Stay here.” He started towards the door, but he saw the look of apprehension on her face, so he turned back to her and for some reason was compelled to smile. “I’ll be right back.”
He knew that bewildered expression would make an appearance, and as pissed at he was at himself for weakening so fast and giving in just to see it, it had been totally worth it.
Shaking off the alarming thoughts, he hurried toward the golf cart still parked on the side of the building. Technically, he had to check it out if he ever needed to use one, but he hadn’t checked it back in today after using it all day. Since he’d gotten back so late today, he planned on doing so in the morning.
In less than a couple of minutes, he had it parked at the building’s front door. He jumped out and hurried through it, already looking forward to having her in his arms again.
This was not good.
He found her squeezing her eyes shut, her face scrunched in agony.
“It’s hurts that bad?”
She nodded but said nothing as he knelt down to look at her ankle again. The swelling was getting worse. He grabbed her bag with one hand.
“Okay, let me help you stand on your good foot,” he said, holding her elbow. She rose from her seat slowly, wobbling as she leaned into him. “I got you,” he assured her as he brought his arm around her small waist, holding her firmly.
Once she was all the way up, he bent down to bring his arm under her knees again as he had earlier. “Put your arms around my neck.”
She did, and just like earlier, he inhaled her blissful scent. He knew with her foot dangling it had to make the pain worse, and she buried her face in his neck, gasping. He held her tighter in hopes of keeping her foot from moving too much. Walking backwards, he pushed the glass door open with his back, careful not to hit her foot against it as he swung her around and walked through it.
He’d never actually been in combat, but in his day, he’d been through plenty of drills where he had to carry a fellow soldier in full combat gear for long grueling sessions. Ms. Brady felt so tiny and delicate he could hold her like this forever, as small as she was in comparison. The scent of her hair alone and the feel of her soft but firm body pressed against his was incentive enough to hold her as long as he could. It was actually a disappointment to have to set her down in the golf cart, but he did so gently and slowly.
“Are you okay?” he asked as he watched her slowly and apparently very painfully lower her foot to the floor of the cart.
Again she nodded without saying a word as if words alone might make it hurt more. “We’ll get you some pain killers in a little bit. The base hospital isn’t too far.”
Setting her purse down in the back of the cart, he rushed around to the driver’s side and jumped in. Brandon was almost glad she didn’t seem to be in a mood to talk. He already felt too close to giving into what he’d previously said was out of the question, getting to know her a little more by asking generic questions that could be construed as perfectly innocent inquiries in a situation like this. Asking her if she had anyone that could come pick her up for example would be entirely acceptable. Knowing there were other reasons he wanted to know and that there shouldn’t be, he refrained from asking.
“I’m sorry for taking up so much of your time, Sergeant Billings,” she said softly. “Once you get me to the hospital, I can call someone so you can leave.”
Someone? Like Antonio? “I had no further plans for the rest of this evening, Ms. Brady,” he said, looking straight ahead. “I can take you home. You won’t be able to drive tonight. That’s for sure, maybe not even for a few days.”
She groaned, shaking her head and squeezing her eyes closed again.
“Is the pain getting worse?” he asked, looking down at her swollen ankle.
“No.” She sighed. “It’s not that. I mean, yeah, it still hurts, but not any worse. It just hadn’t even dawned on me that I might not be able to drive for days. I had a major breakthrough today at work and planned on being very busy the next few days.”
Brandon glanced over just in time to catch her frowning face. It was so sweet he had to look away. He might’ve smiled again if what that adorable expression did to him didn’t scare the hell out. “Well, maybe they’ll tell you otherwise,” he offered as solace, staring straight ahead. “If it’s not broken and you ice it enough tonight, you might be able to put a little pressure on it by tomorrow.”